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_10/02/10_Western Gorilla
(Gorilla gorilla gorilla)
Today my wife and I visited the San Diego Zoo! She had never been and I hadn't been in at least 10 years, so it was great to make the trip.
As mentioned in my last few dailies, I rented a monster Sigma 150-500mm lens that allowed me to take shots like this - it was a blast! I got a lot of keepers, but this was my favorite. I just wish that twig wasn't there... :) The lens was quite a burden to carry from 9-5, but well worth it, I think. I was able to get amazing close-up details of the animals that would have been impossible otherwise.
I relied heavily on auto ISO because the lens is very slow at f/5-6.3. A lot of darker subjects pushed it to ISO 1600, but I figured that was the price to pay for non-blurry subjects. The lens is certainly not of the highest quality - even my sharpest shots have some aberration and softness even stopped down to f/9. Regardless, I had a great time and highly recommend renting a super telephoto for your next zoo trip!
More Zoo Photos[last year]